


A Knock on the Door

by tinyarmedtrex



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: 1 shot, Home Invasion, M/M, horror fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 14:00:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21137849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinyarmedtrex/pseuds/tinyarmedtrex
Summary: Richie and Eddie are home alone for movie night when creepy things start happening...





	A Knock on the Door

“Okay Eds, we’ve got popcorn, candy, cookies and then whatever weird healthy thing you brought-”

“Grapes, Richie.”

“Whatever. I declare this movie night officially started! I wish I had a gong to ring or something.” Richie said as he threw himself onto the couch next to Eddie. The two of them had the house to themselves, all the other losers were out and Richie didn’t mind that at all. He had snacks, scary movies and Eddie, it was perfect. 

“What should we watch first?” He asked, glancing at his friend. Eddie was already bundled up in a blanket, pulled up to his chin. It was adorable. Richie knew he didn’t like horror movies but he’d agreed to watch them with Richie- which was pretty ideal for him. He was hoping for some prime cuddling time, maybe even hand holding. He knew it was pitiful but he couldn’t help it, just the thought of it sent his heart racing. His feelings for Eddie hadn’t decreased when they’d moved in together with the others, if anything they’d grown. Seeing Eddie first thing in the morning, searching for coffee with his eyes half open only made Richie love him more. 

“An older one, I don’t want to be terrified.” Eddie said, reaching for some grapes and popping them in his mouth.

“Deal.” Richie queued up Nightmare on Elm Street and leaned back, sitting closer to Eddie than necessary on their large couch but Eddie didn’t complain, if anything he leaned into Richie as the movie started. 

They had barely watched their first nightmare when a noise came from the kitchen. It sounded like someone rattling the door that lead to their backyard. 

“Did you hear that?” He asked, his head whipping back. They kept the door locked, not that it was a big concern. Their yard was fenced in but it was a safety thing. None of them ever used that door so it stayed locked. 

“Yea, it’s fine. It’s probably that dumb cat Mike feeds.”

“Be nice to Snowball three.” Richie said, still watching behind them. The noise hadn’t sounded like a cat. It sounded like someone trying to get in. 

“He probably has worms.” 

After a minute when no other noise came Richie relaxed, leaning back against Eddie. Things were fine for a few more minutes until the front door started to move. Both Eddie and Richie watched as the knob rattled. Someone was clearly trying to get in. As they watched the rattling stopped for a second then began again, with more ferocity. Someone started to bang on the door, making the window rattle. 

“That’s weird.” Richie said, trying not to panic. They were close to the door, whoever was there could probably hear them talking. 

“Maybe one of the others forgot their keys?” Eddie asked. Richie heard the fear in his voice too. 

“Ben? Mike? Is that you guys?” Richie called. As he did, the rattling stopped, as suddenly as it had started. “Wrong house?” He said, turning back to look at Eddie.

“I guess.” Eddie was nestled lower in his blanket, still staring at the door. As he did there something slapped their window, one loud noise that made them both jump. Richie tensed, waiting for something else to happen but nothing did. 

“Should we call the cops?” 

Eddie took a deep breath and shook his head. “No, no it’s fine. Let’s watch the movie. They’re gone now. I’m sure it was just some random person trying to freak us out.”

Richie nodding, thinking that at least something good came out of this. Eddie had moved even closer to him, nestling against him.

They made it through the first few of Freddie’s kills before something else happened. The house phone rang. 

Eddie and Richie both looked at each other, confused. That phone never rang. The landlord insisted that they have one but all of them used their cell phones. 

“I’ll get it, it’s probably a telemarketer.” Eddie said, hopping off and padding over to the phone. Richie flipped on the couch, sitting on his knees and watching Eddie.

“Hello?” Eddie immediately frowned as he listened. “Listen asshole, fuck you, okay? This isn’t funny! You can’t just-” He growled and slammed the phone down. 

“What was that?” Richie asked as Eddie glared at the phone.

Eddie looked at him like he had forgotten Richie was there. “Just some asshole trying to scare us.” He said, walking back to the couch. 

“The same asshole as before?”

Eddie shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe? “ Eddie sat again, curling the blanket around him and staring at the TV but not really watching it. Richie could tell he was freaked out. 

“Eds?” Richie was going to try and comfort him when the phone rang for the second time.

“Richie, don’t!” Eddie cried but Richie was already on his feet.

“Loser’s lounge, we only have the primo members here tonight.” 

“Hello Richie.” The voice was wrong, distorted. It was somehow both low and high at once. “I’ve been waiting to talk to you.”

“Well now you’ve got me.” 

“Oh no, not yet. I don’t have you yet, Richie. But I will soon. I will.” They laughed, a high pitched giggle that made a jolt of fear run through him. 

“What the fuck does that mean?” 

“You’ll see. Better check if those doors are still locked, Richie. The windows, too. Wouldn’t want anyone getting in.”

He slammed the phone down, not wanting to hear anymore. He turned and saw that Eddie was staring at him. 

“All the doors and windows are locked, right?” He asked. They knew the front and back door were but there was one in the basement, plus all the windows.

“I- I’m not sure.” Eddie said, “Why? What did they say?”

“Nothing. It’s fine.” Richie didn’t want to scare Eddie anymore than he already was. “I’m going to go check the basement door.”

Eddie hopped up, walking over. “I’m coming too.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Safety in numbers.” Eddie said, sliding his hand into Richie’s. Under any other circumstance, he’d be thrilled but right now, his heart was pounding too loudly for him to think about it.

Together, they made their way to the top of the stairs and Richie flicked on the light. 

Nothing happened.

“Fuck.” Richie peered down, trying to see into the darkness that was their basement. “Of fucking course.”

“I’ll grab the flashlights.” Eddie said, scurrying off. He was back quickly and handed Richie a flashlight, keeping a second for himself.

They turned them on and headed down the stairs. It felt like plunging into Hell. The basement wasn’t welcoming at the best of times, unfinished and smelling vaguely like mold. The losers avoided it as much as they could. Now, it was even worse. Richie had to stop himself from jumping at every shadow or noise. 

The door was on the far end so they made their way quietly through the room.

“Shit.” Eddie swore as they saw the door. It was wide open and Richie could hear the wind whistling outside, an eerie noise that sounded like someone screaming. 

He ran forward, slamming the door shut and locking it. “It doesn’t mean anything, right?” He said, looking at Eddie. “Bill could have forgotten to close it, or Ben.”

Eddie looked at him and Richie knew what he was thinking. It was possible that it was their friends but…

A crash from upstairs stopped them both. They stared up at where the noise had come from, neither moving.

“We need to leave.” Eddie hissed, pressing himself next to Richie. 

“The keys to my truck are in my bedroom.” Richie muttered, still watching at the spot. Then they heard someone moving above them. He heard footsteps and like they were dragging something with them, something heavy. Richie curled an arm around Eddie’s waist, pulling him closer. 

“We should just run!” Eddie said. His voice was panicked and Richie didn’t blame him. None of this felt like it could actually be happening. 

Richie shook his head. “Not on foot, we’ll never outrun them. I’ll go get the keys, you wait here.”

“Fuck that.” Eddie shook his head. “I’m going with you.” 

“Eds-”

“No.” He looked at Richie, his eyes bright with determination. “We aren’t splitting up. Bad shit always happens in movies when people split up.”

“This isn’t a movie.” Richie wanted to keep Eddie safe. He wanted the man far away from this house.

But he knew that Eddie was stubborn and capable of handling himself so he nodded. “Fine, we stick together.”

“And grab our phones to call 911.” Eddie added. 

“Deal.” Wordlessly, both clicked off their flashlights and headed for the stairs. Richie listened for any other sounds but he didn’t hear anything.

At least, until they reached the top of the stairs. They needed to cross through the kitchen to get to the living room, then it was up the stairs to get to his room.

Richie peered around the room and didn’t see anything. They stepped out and then- 

“Oh Richie, Eddddddiiiee, we’re waiting.” It was the voice again, distorted and terrifying- and close. It sounded like it was just around the corner from them. 

Richie glanced at Eddie, unsure what to do. 

“Back down stairs,” Eddie whispered. “We’ll run, fuck it.”

Both turned, ready to bolt down the stairs when a voice called from below. “I’m not sure you want to go this way boys.” Richie couldn’t see where the voice was coming from but it made a chill run through him. It was deep, demonic. Then he heard someone step on the stairs, the step creaking under their weight. 

“Front door.” He hissed, turning as quickly as he could. He and Eddie grabbed hands again, moving through the kitchen as quietly as they could.

The front door appeared like a beacon, calling to them both and Richie breathed a sigh of relief to see that it was unblocked. 

But as they neared it, the door opened and Ben stepped through. “Ben!” Eddie cried, “Thank god we need to-”

As their friend stepped across the threshold, Richie could tell something was wrong. He took one shaky step, then another and then-

He collapsed, falling to the floor. Richie could see a long knife in his back, pushed in so far that only the handle was sticking out. Blood poured from the wound, dripping onto their carpet. 

“B-Ben?” Eddie asked, stopping in his tracks as both of them stared in horror.

Ben looked up at them, his hand outstretched and eyes bloodshot. “ _ Run _ .” 

Then he shuddered and his eyes closed, his breathing stopped. 

They both stood there, staring at their friend. Richie’s brain couldn’t compute it. He knew what he was seeing but it didn’t make sense. Their friend, Haystack, lay on the floor, unmoving. Richie felt tears spring to his eyes and saw that Eddie was the same. He squeezed Eddie’s hand and was about to say something when something else stepped through the door.

The figure was dressed in all black, an antique Harlequin mask covering their face. One hand held a jagged knife and the other was raised and their gloved fingers wiggled a ‘hello’ at the boys.

For a second, Richie could only gape at them but thankfully Eddie wasn’t frozen and he reacted, lunging forward and trying to tug Richie with him.

“Richie, come on!” Eddie cried when he resisted.

“But- Ben.” Richie glanced back, seeing another other figure in matching clothes and a mask emerge from the basement and stop in the kitchen, blocking their exit. They made no move to reach for the boys. They seemed to know that there was no urgency, that the boys were trapped. 

“He’s gone!” Eddie insisted, pulling on his arm. “And we’re not!”

The words snapped Richie out of his shock and he followed Eddie, nearly tripping up the stairs as they ran. A third figure appeared, dragging an ax along the floor. All of them cocked their heads and stared at the boys as they scrambled upstairs.

At the top, Eddie took a sharp left and threw himself into Richie’s room, slamming the door behind them. 

“Now what?” Richie asked. His heart was thumping in his chest and adrenaline coursed through him. He kept seeing Ben, laying on the floor. 

“Get your keys!” Eddie hissed, throwing himself against the door.

“Right!” Richie moved to grab his keys. He could hear a thunking coming up the stairs. He knew what it was, the ax, hitting each step. 

Eddie’s eyes were on him, staring as Richie rooted around his desk, looking for the keys in his pile of paper.

“Richie-” Eddie’s voice was high and tense and Richie knew, he didn’t need a reminder that they were running out of time.

“Got ‘em!” He said, turning around and raising his keychain triumphantly.

But it was short lived. As he did, there was a knock on his door. “Oh boys.” One of the voices called. “We know you’re in there, hiding from us. Come out, come out to play.”

“Play with us.” The second one called.

“Play with us.” The first echoed. 

Eddie looked at Richie, his eyes wide with fear. Now it was Richie’s turn to act, he grabbed his chair and shoved it under the door knob then grabbed Eddie’s elbow.

“We have to go out the window.” He said quietly, hoping they couldn’t hear him. 

Eddie shook his head. “We’ll fall.” He mouthed back. 

The knocking on the door grew louder. “Boys, we’re waiting.” The voice was almost sing songy, if not for the distortion. 

“We won’t, I promise.” His room was next to the garage, he snuck out there all the time to smoke with Bev and he knew where to step. “I’ll keep you safe Eds.” 

The knocking turned to pounding, making both of them jump, and finally Eddie nodded, letting Richie lead him to the window.

“Here, be careful.” Richie said, opening his window and then helping Eddie out. Once Eddie was safely out, he crawled out himself, closing the window behind them in hopes that it would give them a few minutes to hide. 

He glanced at Eddie, the other man was shivering and looking at the ground. They were still over ten feet up and the wind was howling, whipping through their thin clothes. 

“Richie, I can’t do it, I can’t jump from here. I’ll break my arm.” Eddie’s voice was high with panic and he was staring at the ground, shaking his head. “I can’t, I can’t.” 

“We won’t, we’ll- we’ll figure something out." Richie went to him, wrapping his arms around Eddie to warm him up and give themselves a minute to think. He could feel Eddie trembling in his arms and, for the first time, Richie realized how bad this was. His brain had a second to catch up with everything that was happening. Masked figures were chasing them, hunting them. They’d already taken out Ben and he didn’t know where any of his other friends were. They hadn’t been able to grab their phones and Eddie was right, jumping from this height was dangerous. 

It was bad. Really fucking bad. He couldn’t deny that. Richie wondered if this might be his last chance to tell Eddie how he felt. 

“Eds-” He started, his mouth going dry. But then he looked and saw that Eddie’s eyes had grown wide and he was pointing to Richie’s room. The masked figures had gotten in and were searching his room. They finished looking in his closet and pointed to the window, both clamoring for it.

“Fuck.” 

“Richie-” Eddie’s voice was pure terror. “I can’t jump. I can’t.”

“We’ll go back inside. Maybe they’ll think we jumped and ran.” Richie said, thinking quickly. “Bill never locks his window, come on. Then we can go back downstairs. We can do this Eds.” 

Eddie nodded, following Richie to Bill’s window. They crawled back in and Richie was grateful to at least feel warmer. 

“Come on, we’ll go downstairs,” He said, whispering. He could hear the figures on the roof as they cautiously opened Bill’s door and started to dart for the stairs.

As they passed Bev’s room, Richie heard his door open again, the creak of it echoing down the hall. 

“Come on!” Eddie said, grabbing Richie’s arm and pulling him into their hallway closet. They closed the door as quietly as they could, jamming themselves into the small space. Richie barely dared to breathe as they heard someone walk by.

Richie’s arms wrapped around Eddie and he breathed a sigh of relief, his head collapsing to Eddie’s shoulder. He waited another minute, making sure no one was near, then lifted his head.

“Eds, I have to tell you something.” He said, leaning in to whisper in Eddie’s ear.

“Now?”

Richie nodded, drawing back to look at Eddie. Eddie was staring at him, his hair mussed from the wind and Richie smoothed it down.

“Okay.” Eddie mouthed. 

Richie leaned back in, swallowing before he spoke. “I love you. I’ve always loved you Eds, for years.” Then he had to bite back an ‘oof!’ as Eddie reached out and hit him.

“What was that for?” He asked, rubbing his chest. 

“You waited until now to tell me?” Eddie hissed. Richie was about to say something, to ask what that meant, but Eddie was moving in, pressing his lips to Richie’s and for once, Richie stopped talking. He kissed Eddie back for a long minute, almost forgetting about their situation.

Then Eddie broke the kiss and looked at him, smiling despite everything that was happening. “Now we have to survive. I want to do that again.”

Richie’s response was lost as the door flung open and the three masked figures stood in front of them. Richie shoved Eddie behind him and grabbed the first thing he could- a mop- brandishing it at them. 

To his shock, he saw his friends faces smiling back at them. He wouldn’t allow himself any relief though, knowing that the figures were near.

“Bev! Stan! We need to go! There’s people here and-”

Eddie’s hand on his arm made him look again. Bev, Stan and Bill were wearing all black and holding masks and it all clicked into place. 

“You motherfuckers.” Richie spat, “It was you?” 

Bev grinned at him and nodded. “We decided you needed payback for all the pranks you’ve pulled on us over the years. Like swapping out my hair dye?”

“Or coating the eyepiece of my binoculars with black paint?” Stan added.

“Or calling Audra and telling her that I couldn’t go out because I had a severe rash all over my dick?” Bill finished.

Richie gaped at them, a mix of emotions running through him. First, he was relieved because they were okay, the threat wasn’t real. Second, he was a little pissed because he’d been terrified and Eddie-

“What about Eds! He didn’t do shit!” Richie cried, pointing to the other man. 

Stan shrugged. “Casualty of the process.”

“And we thought that being scared might make you two finally confess your feelings.” Bev added, glancing at them.

Richie opened then closed his mouth, deciding not to touch that until he’d talked to Eddie alone. 

“So Ben is okay?” Eddie asked, peering down the stairs. 

“I’m okay! It’s just props from the theatre!” Richie heard him call then, a second later, he came upstairs, still bloody but very much alive. 

“He was a less than willing participant in all this so if you’re going to be upset, don’t take it out on him.” Bev said, smoothing down his hair. 

“Mike too,” Stan added. 

Richie wasn’t sure how he felt. His heart was still pounding but it was pure adrenaline. And he had to admit, it was a damn good prank. 

“Man, fuck you guys.” He said, putting the mop back and stepping out of the closet. “You know this means I’m getting you all back ten fold.” 

Bev shrugged. “Sure Tozier, whatever.” But she was smiling, looking pleased with herself.

It took Richie a second to figure out why. Then he noticed that he and Eddie were holding hands. They two were still pressed close and Richie was sure that Bev knew she’d won.

“Well! Eddie and I need to discuss this, alone. In my room. You assholes can go back to your fake plans.” He declared, starting to walk away with Eddie. 

The others may have said something but Richie ignored them until he was in his room, door shut. Then he turned to Eddie, taking his face in his hands. “Are you okay?” 

Eddie nodded. “Still shaken but- I can’t believe those fuckers.”

Richie bobbed his head. “Are you mad you got wrapped up in their revenge for me?” He was worried that Eddie would be furious with him, since his pranks had caused all this. 

“No, not really.” Eddie’s eyes shone as he smirked. “I want to help you get them back.” 

“Fuck I love you.” Richie said, smiling down at him. He was still processing what had happened but the most important thing was what had happened in the closet. “I was serious, just so you know. What I said. I do love you.” 

“Me too ‘Chee.” Eddie reached up and kissed him gently. “Now, let’s start plotting.” 

“Oh hell yes.” Richie lead Eddie to his bed, already listing off ideas. 

**Author's Note:**

> reddie-for-anything requested horror of any kind and this is what happened. I hope you liked it! (and the twist :P I couldn't really kill Ben!)


End file.
